


Dolphins

by Dandy



Category: Free!
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-05
Updated: 2017-08-05
Packaged: 2018-12-11 09:02:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,297
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11711181
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dandy/pseuds/Dandy
Summary: Once they were done, and had washed the dishes together, Rei said, “So, what do you want to do for your birthday?”“Go to the pool,” replied Haru immediately, and Rei gave a fond sigh.





	Dolphins

**Author's Note:**

> Originally written for Haru's birthday.

Haru woke up to a cold and empty bed, and frowned, hand reaching for a body that was supposed to be next to him. 

Rei said he had taken off for Haru’s birthday, but he wasn’t in bed. Had he gotten up to go to work after all?

Haru was just about to get really cross when he heard a noise from their little kitchen, and smelled something cooking.

Getting up, he grabbed a shirt off the floor (Rei’s) and pulled it on. It was a little too big for him, but Haru didn’t mind – it was soft and comfortable, and smelled like Rei’s body wash.

Rei looked up from the stove when Haru walked in, nearly dropping his spatula. He was wearing his purple butterfly pajamas (he had never gotten rid of them) with an apron thrown over them.

“Haruka! What are you doing up?”

“The bed was cold,” he said, accusatorially, and moved to where he can see what Rei is making. There was mackerel grilling in the pan, and he smiled a little at the smell.

“You’ll live,” said Rei with little sympathy, gesturing with the spatula. “Go back to bed, Haruka.” 

“Why?”

“Because!” Rei gave a huff, turning back to his cooking so Haru couldn’t see the blush dusting his cheeks. “I… was going to feed you a special birthday breakfast in bed.” His blush grew, and he pushed at the fish in the pan with his spatula in irritation. “But I can’t very well do that if you’re in here!”

Rei was kind of cute when he got defensive like this, but also kind of annoying. Haru decided to punish him by sitting down at their tiny kitchen table instead.

Rei cooked for a few more seconds, then looked over his shoulder, frowning when he saw his boyfriend seated there instead of back in bed. “How can I serve you breakfast in bed if you’re in the kitchen? It defies logic!”

“The bed is cold,” Haru repeated, resting his chin on his hand. He let a smile creep over his face when Rei looked back at him one more time, blushed, and then whipped his head back to look at his work, doggedly ignoring Haru’s presence, occasionally muttering to himself about “stubborn boyfriends” who “ruin the gesture.”

Ruined gesture or no, Haru had no intention of being where Rei was not.

Rei was done several minutes later, presenting a truly delicious looking breakfast to Haru. He’d put a light, fresh pineapple salsa on the fish (which he abstained from, himself), with some rice and fresh fruit on the side. He placed the dish down before sitting, then waited anxiously while Haru took his first bite.

It might have been funny to tease him, but Haru couldn’t help but smile as he put the first bite in his mouth.

“It’s delicious, Rei,” he said softly, and tension seemed to drain out of Rei’s shoulders. With relief, he took a bite of his own.

Haru wished Rei would stop feeling like he had to impress him, but he supposed Rei would never change.

“I’m glad you like it,” Rei said once he had swallowed, grinning at his plate. “I wanted to make it special, since this is your first birthday we’ve shared living here.” His smile fell a little, and he looked up with a pout. “But it would have been much more special if you had just let me serve it to you in bed like I planned!”

Haru sighed, putting down his fork. He could tell Rei that the bed was cold, again. Or he could just admit that he didn’t like waking up alone. 

Instead, he leaned over the table and kissed the pout right off Rei’s lips.

“It’s special just like this,” he said once he broke away, and left it at that. Rei was blushing like mad, and Haru smiled with satisfaction as he went back to his meal.

Once they were done, and had washed the dishes together, Rei said, “So, what do you want to do for your birthday?”

“Go to the pool,” said Haru immediately, and Rei gave a fond sigh.

“Somehow that’s what I thought you would say.” Rei smiled, taking Haru’s hand and guiding him into their bedroom. “I already packed a bag with our towels and other necessities.”

Haru rewarded this good thinking with a kiss. Rei kissed him back with gusto, and they almost found themselves completely sidetracked from getting ready to go to the pool.

They got back on track soon enough, though. Haru put on his swimsuit and then pulled on his pants, a habit he had never seen any reason to break, while Rei did the same – something he only did because he had good reason. Haru waited while Rei double-checked their bag to be sure they had everything, and then they were out the door.

There was a small aquatic center about a ten minutes’ walk from their house, so Haru was surprised when Rei didn’t turn to go that way. Instead, he took Haru by the hand and led him in the opposite direction, toward the train station.

“I thought we were going to the pool,” said Haru, wary that he had been tricked and was now being taken somewhere decidedly less wet. But Rei only smiled brightly at him and tugged him along.

“We’re going to a special pool,” he announced, and Haru’s eyes widened, sparkling.

“A special pool?”

Rei nodded. “You’ll see when we get there.”

Rei took Haru to the train station, and bought them each a ticket. There weren’t many people on the train, so the two of them were able to get a nice, mostly secluded spot. Haru, in the window seat, leaned against his boyfriend. Nice and comfy. Rei was blushing, and Haru magnanimously ignored it.

“What's the special pool like?”

“I already told you, you’ll see.”

Haru huffed, but didn’t move away. Instead, he let his head sink lower against Rei’s shoulder, dangerously too affectionate – but it was his birthday, and he had the right. No one could really see them, anyway.

Rei babbled about work, the train, the last phone call he’d had with Nagisa, and other random things that came to mind. Haru listened, but didn’t contribute. It was soothing to let Rei ramble on like that, and know that his boyfriend didn’t mind that he didn’t have much to say.

Though he couldn’t help but let his thoughts wander to the special pool. Rei wasn’t normally good at keeping secrets, but he had Haru stumped on this one. Maybe it was the biggest pool in all of Japan? A secret pool for just the two of them? Haru couldn’t know until they arrived.

It took almost an hour, but eventually they were getting off at their stop. Rei hesitated at the train station, then confidently led Haru in one direction, only to pull out his phone five minutes later and take them in the opposite direction instead, cursing alleged “faulty directions.” Haru hung back a step, unable to hide a smile over his boyfriend’s silliness.

After about fifteen minutes of wandering, they found their destination: a marine park. “This is it!” Rei announced, looking proud of himself, and obviously expecting Haru to praise him.

As for Haru, it wasn’t that he disliked marine parks (the fish and animals were cute, after all), but he did have one problem.

“I thought we were going to swim.”

Rei blinked, then nodded, still smiling, and started to lead Haru toward the admission counter. “I said we’re going to swim, and I meant it. Just trust me, Haruka.”

Haru wasn’t sure who he trusted more. He followed Rei to the counter, and then into the marine park.

Rei was studying a map very intensely while Haru looked around, smiling at little at the scenery. Most of the fish were housed inside aquariums, but he could still see some tanks outside, and the beautiful fish swimming inside.

But before he could get a good look, Rei was grabbing his hand again, leading him away. “This way, Haruka!” he said in excitement, and Haru felt excited too, even though he didn’t know where they were going. But he soon found out, when he saw a sign.

“SWIM WITH THE DOLPHINS!”

Haru’s eyes widened, and then he looked at Rei, who was beaming at him. “This is the special “pool” I was talking about! Do you want to try it?”

All Haru could do was nod. They hurried inside, and before Haru knew it, they had been fitted for wetsuits and were in the pool, standing on a small platform with a few other people, while two dolphins swam through the water in front of them.

The trainer had the dolphins do some tricks first, flipping out of the water or flipping their fins for the audience. She would slip them fish when they did a good job. Haru watched, enraptured, at how fluidly the dolphins swam. Next to him, Rei wasn’t sure if it was more fun to watch the dolphins or Haru’s face.

“Can we touch them?” someone asked, and Haru was glad, because he’d been wondering the same thing. The trainer had one of the dolphins come up to the platform, and told everyone to be gentle as they petted the dolphin’s back.

“Here,” said the trainer, holding out a fish to Haru once the dolphin passed. “Do you want to feed her?”

Haru took the fish without speaking and tossed it to the dolphin, smiling when she ate it. “I wonder if she likes mackerel too,” he said to Rei, and Rei laughed.

“I’m sure, Haruka.”

The dolphins came around for more petting, and Haru got to feed one another fish (the trainer offered a fish to Rei, who politely declined). Then each of them got to take a picture like the dolphin was kissing their cheek (Rei tried to politely decline this as well, but Haru’s pouting face pushed him to do it). The dolphins did more tricks, and splashed the guests playfully, causing the guests to splash back – all but Haru, who gladly let the water splash over him without trying to retaliate.

“Haruka, you’re supposed to splash,” chided Rei, but Haru shook his head, smiling.

“I like it,” he said, and Rei gave a good-natured huff and splashed at the dolphin again.

Finally came the moment Haru had most been waiting for: when they actually got to swim with the dolphins. He waited impatiently in line, watching other guests hold on to the dolphins’ fins and be carried along to the other platform.

Still, he nudged Rei to go ahead of him, wanting to see that.

“Why do I have to go first?” Rei whined, but dutifully paddled (lopsidedly – he still wasn’t good at swimming) out to the dolphin, and then grabbed on to her fin.

The dolphin took off, and Rei yelped in surprise, flailing one hand uselessly against the water. Haru couldn’t help but laugh, quietly, as his boyfriend emerged, gasping, from the water, and had to be steadied on the opposite platform by another trainer. He was still laughing a little when Rei looked over at him, but he smiled and waved at Rei, who smiled and waved back.

The dolphin returned, and it was Haru’s turn. Haru slipped much more gracefully into the water than Rei had, swimming alongside the dolphin and putting one hand on her fin.

The dolphin began swimming, and Haru let go.

He could hear a shout above him, but he didn’t listen. Instead, he swam a quick front crawl, moving as fast as he could. The dolphin was swimming next to him, and he could hear it making a clicking sound under the water; he quickened his pace, hoping to give the her a good race. Even so, the dolphin was the clear winner.

When he reached the other side, Rei was standing over him, looking exasperated.

“You were supposed to ride it, Haruka, not race it!”

“We had a good time,” Haru said simply, reaching out to pat the dolphin’s head. The dolphin let him, giving a pleased squeak at Haru, and then went back to the other trainer.

“I’m glad you did, but honestly, Haruka, please follow the rules!”

Haru just gave his hand a pat and settled in next to him to watch the other guests ride the dolphin. “You swim very well, sir,” said one of the trainers, genuinely surprised.

“I just wanted to swim free with her,” said Haru, and the trainer blinked, then looked at Rei for a translation. Rei just smiled sympathetically at him and waved it off.

All too soon, it was over, and they had to get out of the pool. Haru gave one last look at the dolphin, who squeaked at him again before disappearing under the water, and then followed Rei out of the pool area.

“Did you enjoy that, Haru?” he asked as they were toweling off. His voice sounded anxious again, so Haru leaned over and gave him a light kiss on the cheek.

“I wish I could have swam longer with her,” he said, but he was smiling. “But it was fun.”

“I still can’t believe you raced a dolphin,” said Rei, but he was smiling too. The two of them gathered their things together and went to go look around the rest of the marine park, hands linked together once again.

“By the way,” said Rei later, while they were standing in front of an aquarium full of vibrant reef fish, “I forgot to say, happy birthday, Haruka.”

Haru just squeezed Rei’s hand, hoping he knew it meant that Haru appreciated everything Rei had done. And judging by his happy smile, he did.


End file.
